Morning journal and courier., 1887-09-24
TORNADO ON THE RIO GRANDE.

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 Two Towns Almost wiped Out and l Property Destroyed to the Value o1 over a Million. g s-ss-5 I l BROWNSVILLE, Tex, Sept. 23.--A tornado visited this place and the adjoining towns or
 Tuesday night. At o'clock Tuesday even 1 ing the "norther" that had been blowing fo1 | several days increased in ferceness, with heavy gusts of rain, and in a short time a hurricane was on the towns in it's full force, l the wind reaching in the heightsof the storm a velocity of seventy-eight miles an hour. All night long it continued, the bowling be- ing mingled now and then with the crash of trees, the falling of fences as they went over or the shouts of those deserting their crum- bling residences or imploring aid. Morning dawned on a scene of desolation. Water filled the streets, through which the roaring wind drove the rain like great volleys of small shot. At 2:30 p. m. the wind lulled and there was almost dead calm until 4:30 D. m., when the wind came from the south This shows that the vortex of the hurricane, as was the case of those of 1880 and 1886, passed directly over this section. About 9
 
 this time from the south, and continued un- til this morning, when the hurricane may be said to have ceased. The rain fall was 10.4 inches. The average temperature was seventy-two. The velocity of the wind, while it registered greater than that of a hurricane of last year, did not ap- pear to show its force during the sudden he doyo int kha IL of the two cities is incalculab1e. Countless head of cattle and sheep have been lost and the crops of cotton. corn and sugar cane gre completely destroyed. The total of the losses will be far beyond one million dollars. In Brownsville the chief sufferers were among the poor. Between sixty and eighty jacals or the cheaper class of dwellings have been blown down and fully three hundred have been partially unroofed and rendered unhabitable. A barge and steam launch at the ferry landing were sunk. The boats of the ferry company were saved with great difficulty. The telegraph wire to Point Isabel is down and it is not known how things are there. There were in port two vessels, the schoon- CTS Henrietta and Magnetic. There is great suffering among the poor, many of whom are without resources. Sheriff Brito has suc- cored many families, but it is still possible to aid only portion of those in need. The river is again very high and overfowing it's banks.
 In Matamoras the narrow streets during the storm were seas of water from ankle to nearly hip deep. In the city about dozen houses of the better class and fully one hun dred and fifty to two hundred jacals were prostrated, while from four hundred to five hundred were unroofed or shattered. The unfortunate lagoon south of the plaza Des Capilla is again inundated. A large portion of the houses have fallen. The water was from knee to waist deep. From 12 o'clock Wednesday night to noon yesterday the po- lice, troops and many citizens en- gagged in saving the inhabitants and their effects. Women and girls were crouched on beds in scanty attire. They were obliged to enter the dark waters and face the driving gusts of wind and rain until conveyed three hundred or four hundred yards to place of safety. The force of the wind precluded the carriages from taking them out. More damage appears to have been done in the Freeport district than in that towards the San Fernando gate or the Casa Mata. The public school buildings are full of refugees and the authorities are doing all in their power for them. Among the merchants goods have been generally dam aged by water. The suffering in the town and country is generally severe. At the rail- way station several sheds were blown down and the line was reported inundated in sev- eral points, At Arrieros Park considerable damage was done as well as at the ceme- teries,